Foggy spot on windshield removal?

[Uenjoymyself]

Hello all,

Looking at a used windshield. Like new but has a small blemish that looks like a rub mark. A light foggy spot likely caused by a box it resided in during shipping. Not a scratch but a small hazy spot the size of a dime. Can this be polished/buffed out?

What did you use??

Or

Wanted, an original OEM shield for an 06 in like new condition.

Thanks, Uenjoy

 

[mcatrophy]

Hello all,
Looking at a used windshield. Like new but has a small blemish that looks like a rub mark. A light foggy spot likely caused by a box it resided in during shipping. Not a scratch but a small hazy spot the size of a dime. Can this be polished/buffed out?

...

Thanks, Uenjoy

I believe the front face of the windshield has some sort of ant-scratch hardened layer. If I'm right, polishing out the present mark would remove this layer.

Personally, I never look through the shield during normal riding, so this wouldn't matter to me.

 

[RossKean]

As mcatrophy says, the windshield probably has a scratch-resistant coating that would be damaged by polishing; especially with anything aggressive.

You might try Meguiar's PlastX on a place that doesn't show.

Alternatively, Novus makes a series of plastic-polishing compounds for restoration of various plastic materials. The Novus products are very good and run from coarse scratch removal to final polish.

If it is just the surface of the hardened coating, one of these products may work for you without damaging the coating. Some shields do not have a coating so may not be compromised.

Depending on the scratch or rub mark, you might try one of the automotive headlight restore kits or even some carnuba-based car wax.

I also look over the screen but still like it to look good. Generally too many bugs on it to see through it anyway!

 

[Mihalis fjr]

Yes it has for sure a scratch-resistant coating.I have already destroyed a windshield when i tried to remove a duct tape when i tried to install a Laminar Lip on until to decide in which position i like it.I used some alcohol to remove the residue of the tape that had stuck on the screen...This scratch-sesistant coating came out in lanes in the area that i used the alcohol.In another windshield i tried to remove some light scratches with many products even and Novus.Nothing can remove scratches from this scratch-resistant coating.It is a lost of time.As about some foggy spots this product did the trick on my windshield.The foggy spots disappeared in mine with this product,it is a great product especially for the paint and for the windshield and will not damage this hard coating:https://www.liquidlustre.com/

 

[Ignacio]

I believe the front face of the windshield has some sort of ant-scratch hardened layer. If I'm right, polishing out the present mark would remove this layer.
Personally, I never look through the shield during normal riding, so this wouldn't matter to me.

I was thinking the same thing, but remembered I'd noted the year they started doing the coating and it was 2008 in the FJR Model Comparison Matrix. So, one could theoretically polish out a 2007 and earlier windshield without the risk.

And I agree with your last thought.

 

[blassoff]

I once had a national shield for a cruiser that I owned. It was badly scratched and cloudy from having sat in a box for a lot or years. It was a good deal of work, but I highly recommend Novus #2 for scratch and cloudy screen repairs. It took some serious "elbow grease" but ultimately it worked like a charm.

Give it a shot, good luck, Baz

 

[Uenjoymyself]

EXCELLENT!!

Its for an 06 so, sounds like the Novus might work.

I also agree with RossKean's last thought's...

 

[Arda FJR]

my understating is that there are two type of windshields. Most after market screen is made of Acrylic which is relatively easy to polish and buff. Products like Movus works very well on acrylics.

However most factory screen made of Plycarbonate. It is much stronger material but if they get scratched it is much much harder to fix. I never had any success with any kind of plastic polish on polycarbonate.

 

[Mihalis fjr]

If your windshield has not a hard coating as Ignacio wrote above ''They started doing the coating from 2008'' then you could try to polish out with a product for this job as Novus.Even and with the liquide lustre product.All the Gen 1 fjr 2001-2005 have a hard coating on their windshields for sure!Personaly i don't think that on a hard coating windshield could caused some foggy spots from rub that caused from a bad package.Some scratches perhaps but not foggy spots..This is my opinion.So probably your windshield has not a hard coating on and so i think that you could easy remove those foggy spots.Here is the answer from Novus when i asked them about my hard coating screen..:

Hi Michalis,

Thank you for your inquiry from our website. Normally if the windshield is coated you will have a tough time trying to get the scratches out if it has a protective film. We don’t recommended our polishes for coated surfaces and if you do use it to try in an inconspicuous area. Please let me know if you have any questions.

Thanks Again,

Dean Trocke

NOVUS Polishes

ps,sorry for a bit out of the thread about the windshield of Gen 1 fjrs but it could help some Gen 1 owners with similar problems..

 

[RossKean]

One caution using Carnuba wax products - I would check to make sure that they don't contain solvents (a lot of them are solvent-based). Polycarbonate (especially) can absorb the solvent and become permanently foggy. To touch up an abraded spot, I would try a very small dab of wax on a Q-tip and wipe it off as soon as the haze forms. A lot of car finishes are silicone based. I would stick with the Carnuba for this.

 

[Mihalis fjr]

I don't know for other products if they cause any damage.I use this product ''liquide lustre'' for over of twenty years on my bikes and i have never had any problem.Also i use the liquide lustre on my fjr from 2004 on the paint and on the windshield at least twice a year without any damage on the hard coating of the screen and on the paint.I do not advertise it but i found that it works great and i want to tell this..

 

[Bustanut joker]

Pretty much everything stated here will clear up a few scratches. However, If you have a "spot" like Uenjoymyself all you're going to do is cuss a lot.

It's pretty much impossible to "blend" any clearcoat finish it you've rubbed off a spot. You can spend time trying with sandpaper but it isn't going to blend.
I have sandpaper from 250 to 15000 grit.. Yeah 15000 and i still couldn't blend it.

I just removed the clear coat with Alcohol on the 05 Canadian screen. Supposedly this was different from US model think it was a size thing, years before I sold it.

Never had anymore of an issue with scratching without it. At least compared to friends bikes with the clear coat.

 

[bigjohnsd]

I've been doing windshields on yamaha motorcycles for 20 years. All Yamaha OEM windscreens are Polycarbonate and have a "Hardcoat" applied to both sides as polycarbonate is a relatively soft but extremely tough plastic. All a polish will do to the hardcoat is introduce more scratches and result in a bigger hazy spot. Unfortunately there is no solution in a bottle to the problem you have with your windscreen.

The solution lies in your wallet, either a new Polycarbonate OEM windscreen or a new, or used, Aftermarket windscreen, many of which are made from Lucite, an acrylic family plastic which is hard enough that it does not require the hardcoat to be applied after molding.

Cee Bailey and many others use Acrylic.

Acrylic can effectively be polished using Novus or other plastic polishes.

I have restored numerous Acyrilic windscreens starting with #800 wet dry sandpaper and a,little soapy water. Use a backer block, go from #800, to #1200, to #1500, to #2000 and then shift to the plastic polish.